Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand, by the same author team, was named the 2010 Book of the Year by the American Bridge Teachers’ Association. Building on the success of that title, this book gives near-beginners a chance to practice the principles on which sound declarer play is based: count your winners, count your losers, make a plan.

This is not just a series of problem hands, however. Each section contains a brief introduction of its topic, and the ideas are reinforced with carefully explained solutions and helpful tips throughout.

Barbara Seagram

Barbara Seagram (Toronto, Canada) ran one of the largest and
most successful bridge clubs and bridge schools in N. America. After
selling the club in 2007, she now concentrates solely on teaching and
organizing her popular bridge cruises. An ABTA Master Teacher, Barbara has
been involved in many of MPP's most successful titles, most notably 25
Bridge Conventions You Should Know. With more than 140,000 copies in print
in English alone, this book is the bestselling bridge title since Charles
Goren was writing in the 1950s. It has been translated into Japanese, French, Danish
and German.
A brief interview with Tracy Mumford from the Minnesota Public Radio on the show “Fargo,” with a 10 minute interview (at the end) with Barabara Seagram talking about a beginner’s guide to bridge.
Interview https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/04/27/aw-jeez-fargo-recap-minnesota-likes Apr 27, 2017

David Bird

David Bird (Southampton, UK) is the world’s most prolific bridge writer. A six-time American Bridge Teachers’ Association Book of the Year award winner, he has over 135 books to his name. David’s columns appear regularly in the ACBL Bridge Bulletin, A New Bridge Magazine, English Bridge, Australian Bridge and other periodicals around the world. He is married with a daughter, a son and two grandchildren.

A top-notch work for advancing players. Aspiring players who read and re-read this work will find themselves making more contracts.

This was the single most helpful book I read in learning to play bridge so far. It made me understand how to think about a hand at the beginning rather than trying to react trick-by-trick to the play. It's definitely a beginner book, and a very helpful one!